Techniques to display an input device on a mobile device

ABSTRACT

A method and system may detect an external display coupled to the mobile device. A digital input device may be presented on the integrated touch sensitive display of the mobile device to operate the mobile device. Multimedia content may be presented on the external display in response to the operation of the mobile device through the digital input device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, claims the benefit of andpriority to previously filed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/189,706filed Jul. 25, 2011, entitled “TECHNIQUES TO DISPLAY AN INPUT DEVICE ONA MOBILE DEVICE”, which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND

Mobile devices are becoming increasingly smaller over time in order tofacilitate transport, storage and convenience for a user. Along with thesmaller form factors, however, mobile devices typically implementintegrated displays with a limited amount of display area. This makes itdifficult for a user to view content presented on the smaller integrateddisplays. To solve this problem, a user may couple a mobile device to anexternal display, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor, via awired or wireless connection. The external display may have a largeramount of display area relative to the integrated display of the mobiledevice. In this configuration, content presented on the smallerintegrated display of a mobile device may be replicated to the largerexternal display to enhance viewing by a user.

Despite the larger image presented by the larger external display, thesmaller integrated display of the mobile device typically continues topresent the same view as that shown on the larger external display. Thisseems redundant given that one purpose of the larger external display isto become a primary viewing device for the mobile device. In some cases,the smaller integrated display may be turned off to conserve power tothe mobile device. In both cases, however, the smaller integrateddisplay remains an underutilized resource of the mobile device. It iswith respect to these and other limitations that the presentimprovements are needed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of an exemplary mobile system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a system within a mobile device.

FIGS. 3A-C illustrate embodiments of exemplary mobile systems.

FIG. 4 illustrates exemplary input devices presented on an integratedtouch sensitive display of a mobile device.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a first exemplary logic flow.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a second exemplary logic flow.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of an exemplary computing architecture.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments are generally directed to techniques for managing multipledisplay devices coupled to a mobile device. Some embodiments areparticularly directed to techniques for presenting different content oneach display device coupled to a mobile device. In one embodiment, forexample, a mobile device may detect an external display device. Themobile device may be coupled to the external display device via wired orwireless connections. The mobile device may comprise an integrated touchsensitive display. Furthermore, the mobile device may implement adisplay manager arranged to present different content on each of thedisplay devices, rather than identical content as presented byconventional solutions.

In an embodiment, for example, the mobile device may detect an externaldisplay device. In an embodiment, a display manager may present adigital input device on an integrated touch sensitive display of amobile device, while simultaneously presenting multimedia content froman application on an external display coupled to the mobile device. Inan embodiment, the digital input device presented on an integrated touchsensitive display of a mobile device may operate the mobile device. Adigital input device may comprise, for example, a software version of akeyboard, a pointing device, a touch pad, or any other type of physicalinput device. In this arrangement, the integrated touch sensitivedisplay may be used to replicate functions of a physical input device,without necessarily needing to connect any physical input devices to themobile device. In this manner, an integrated touch sensitive display fora mobile device may be utilized as a custom input device for the mobiledevice, rather than simply presenting identical content as thatpresented on an external display device. As such, an integrated touchsensitive display is converted from a wasted resource to a productiveresource of a mobile device.

In an embodiment, multimedia may be presented on the external display.In an embodiment, the multimedia may be presented in response to theoperation of the mobile device through the digital input device.

In some cases, a physical input device may be coupled to a mobiledevice. In such cases, the integrated touch sensitive display may beused to augment functions of the physical input device. For instance, aphysical pointing device such as a mouse may be coupled to a mobiledevice, and used to select content presented on an external display.However, the external display may not provide sufficient resolution orgranularity to specifically pin-point content presented on the externaldisplay. In this case, the integrated touch sensitive display mayprovide a more detailed version of an area around a pointer positionedon the external display, thereby allowing a user to select a moreprecise location within the detailed version by tapping on theintegrated touch sensitive display at the desired location. Other usescenarios exist as well.

Various embodiments may comprise one or more elements. An element maycomprise any structure arranged to perform certain operations. Eachelement may be implemented as hardware, software, or any combinationthereof, as desired for a given set of design parameters or performanceconstraints. Although an embodiment may be described with a limitednumber of elements in a certain topology by way of example, theembodiment may include more or less elements in alternate topologies asdesired for a given implementation. It is worthy to note that anyreference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances ofthe phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specificationare not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of one embodiment of a mobile system100. In various embodiments, the mobile system 100 may comprise multiplenodes. A node generally may comprise any physical or logical entity forcommunicating information in the mobile system 100 and may beimplemented as hardware, software, or any combination thereof, asdesired for a given set of design parameters or performance constraints.An example of a node may comprise an electronic device, such as a mobiledevice or an external display. Another example of a node may comprise apart or component of an electronic device, such as a display adapter orwireless transceiver. Although FIG. 1 may show a limited number of nodesby way of example, it can be appreciated that more or less nodes may beemployed for a given implementation.

In various embodiments, the mobile system 100 may comprise, or form partof a wired communications system, a wireless communications system, or acombination of both. For example, the mobile system 100 may include oneor more nodes arranged to process and/or communicate information overone or more types of wired communication links. Examples of a wiredcommunication link, may include, without limitation, a wire, cable, bus,printed circuit board (PCB), Ethernet connection, peer-to-peer (P2P)connection, backplane, switch fabric, semiconductor material,twisted-pair wire, co-axial cable, fiber optic connection, and so forth.The mobile system 100 also may include one or more nodes arranged tocommunicate information over one or more types of wireless communicationlinks, such as shared media 160. Examples of a wireless communicationlink may include, without limitation, a radio channel, infrared channel,radio-frequency (RF) channel, a High-Definition Multimedia Interface(HDMI) channel, a digital visual interface (DVI) channel, a videographics array (VGA) channel, a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) channel, aWireless Display (WiDi) channel, a portion of the RF spectrum, and/orone or more licensed or license-free frequency bands. In the lattercase, the wireless nodes may include one or more wireless interfacesystems and/or components for wireless communication, such as one ormore radios, transmitters, receivers, transceivers, chipsets,amplifiers, filters, control logic, network interface cards (NICs),antennas, antenna arrays, and so forth. Examples of an antenna mayinclude, without limitation, an internal antenna, an omni-directionalantenna, a monopole antenna, a dipole antenna, an end fed antenna, acircularly polarized antenna, a micro-strip antenna, a diversityantenna, a dual antenna, an antenna array, and so forth. In anembodiment, certain devices may include antenna arrays of multipleantennas to implement various adaptive antenna techniques and spatialdiversity techniques.

In various embodiments, the mobile system 100 may comprise or beimplemented as a mobile broadband communications system. Examples ofmobile broadband communications systems include, without limitation,systems compliant with various Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standards forWireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) and variants, the IEEE 802.16standards for Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMANs) and variants,and the IEEE 802.20 or Mobile Broadband Wireless Access (MBWA) standardsand variants, among others. In an embodiment, for example, the mobilesystem 100 may be implemented in accordance with the WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) or WiMAX II standard.WiMAX is a wireless broadband technology based on the IEEE 802.16standard of which IEEE 802.16-2004 and the 802.16e amendment (802.16eCor2/D3-2005) are Physical (PHY) layer specifications. WiMAX II is anadvanced Fourth Generation (4G) system based on the IEEE 802.16m andIEEE 802.16j proposed standards for International MobileTelecommunications (IMT) Advanced 4G series of standards.

In various embodiments, the mobile system 100 may comprise an externaldisplay device 120. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the external displaydevice 120 may include, for example a wireless interface system 155 toallow the external display device 120 to communicate in the mobilesystem 100. In an embodiment, an external display device 120 may includewireless capabilities. The external display device 120 may include adisplay 165. The display 165 may include, but is not limited to, aplasma, a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode(OLED) display and/or a red/green/blue (RGB) display, among others. Inan embodiment, the display 165 on the external display device 120 maypresent multimedia content. The multimedia content may include, but isnot limited to, text, audio, video, symbols, images and/or animation.

In various embodiments, the mobile system 100 may comprise a mobiledevice 110. In various embodiments, the mobile device 110 may include anintegrated touch sensitive display 115, a processor 130, a memory unit140, and a wireless interface system 150. The embodiments, however, arenot limited to the elements shown in FIG. 1.

An integrated touch sensitive display 115 on the mobile device 110 maycomprise any suitable display unit for displaying information on adevice. The integrated touch sensitive display 115 may include anorganic light emitting diode (OLED) display, a liquid crystal display(LCD), or other glass and/or plastic materials. In an embodiment, theintegrated touch sensitive display 115 may provide high brightnessand/or contrast and a wide aspect ratio. In an embodiment, theintegrated touch sensitive display 115 may display text, symbols and/orimages. In an embodiment, the integrated touch sensitive display 115 mayinclude a monochromatic display. In an embodiment, the integrated touchsensitive display 115 may include a red/green/blue (RGB) display.

In an embodiment, the integrated touch sensitive display 115 may besuitable to present one or more graphical user interface (GUI) viewsgenerated by a GUI component of an application program or system program(e.g., an operating system). In an embodiment, the integrated touchsensitive display 115 may be implemented as a touch screen, touch panel,touch screen panel, and so forth. Touch screens may comprise displayoverlays which are implemented using one of several differenttechniques, such as pressure-sensitive (resistive) techniques,electrically-sensitive (capacitive) techniques, acoustically-sensitive(surface acoustic wave) techniques, photo-sensitive (infra-red)techniques, and so forth. In an embodiment, for example, integratedtouch sensitive display 115 may be implemented by a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), plasma, projection screen or other type of suitablevisual interface.

In various embodiments, the integrated touch sensitive display 115 mayto determine when a user is touching the integrated touch sensitivedisplay 115. In an embodiment, the integrated touch sensitive display115 may receive information via a physical touch, such as, but notlimited to, a touch from a virtual pen or a user's finger. Theembodiments are not limited in this context.

As shown by the mobile device 110, the mobile device 110 may comprise aprocessor 130. The processor 130 may be implemented as any processor,such as a complex instruction set computer (CISC) microprocessor, areduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, a very longinstruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, a processor implementing acombination of instruction sets, or other processor device. In oneembodiment, for example, the processor 130 may be implemented as ageneral purpose processor, such as a processor made by Intel®Corporation, Santa Clara, Calif. The processor 130 may be implemented asa dedicated processor, such as a controller, microcontroller, embeddedprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a network processor, amedia processor, an input/output (I/O) processor, and so forth. Theembodiments are not limited in this context.

As further shown by the mobile device 110, the mobile device 110 maycomprise a memory unit 140. The memory unit 140 may comprise anymachine-readable or computer-readable media capable of storing data,including both volatile and non-volatile memory. For example, the memoryunit 140 may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM),dynamic RAM (DRAM), Double-Data-Rate DRAM (DDRAM), synchronous DRAM(SDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasableprogrammable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM(EEPROM), flash memory, polymer memory such as ferroelectric polymermemory, ovonic memory, phase change or ferroelectric memory,silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory, magnetic or opticalcards, or any other type of media suitable for storing information. Itis worthy to note that some portion or all of the memory unit 140 may beincluded on the same integrated circuit as the processor 130, oralternatively some portion or all of the memory unit 140 may be disposedon an integrated circuit or other medium, for example a hard disk drive,that is external to the integrated circuit of the processor 130. In anembodiment, the memory unit 140 may include data and instructions tooperate the processor. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, the mobile device 110 and the external displaydevice 120 may communicate information over shared media 160 viarespective wireless interface systems 150, 155. The shared media 160 maycomprise one or more allocations of RF spectrum. The allocations of RFspectrum may be contiguous or non-contiguous. In some embodiments, thewireless interface systems 150, 155 may communicate information over theshared media 160 using various multicarrier techniques utilized by, forexample, WiFi, WiDi, general packet radio service (GPRS), long termevolution (LTE) technologies, WiMAX and/or WiMAX II systems. In generaloperation, the wireless interface system 150, 155 may communicateinformation using one or more communications channels. A communicationchannel may be a defined set of frequencies, time slots, codes, orcombinations thereof.

The mobile device 110 may be coupled to the external display device 120over the shared media 160. One or more logical or physical channels maybe established to communicate information. The information may includemedia information and control information. Media information may referto any data representing content meant for a user. Examples of contentmay include, for example, data from a voice conversation,videoconference, streaming video, electronic mail (“e-mail”) message,voice mail message (“voice message”), alphanumeric symbols, graphics,image, video, text and so forth. Data from a voice conversation may be,for example, speech information, silence periods, background noise,comfort noise, tones and so forth. Control information may refer to anydata representing commands, instructions or control words meant for anautomated system. For example, control information may be used to routemedia information through a system, or instruct a node to process themedia information in a predetermined manner.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system within the mobile device 200. In anembodiment, a mobile device 200 may include a logic device 205. Thelogic device 205 may comprise various hardware elements, softwareelements, or a combination of both. Examples of hardware elements mayinclude devices, components, processors, microprocessors, circuits,circuit elements (e.g., transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors,and so forth), integrated circuits, application specific integratedcircuits (ASIC), programmable logic devices (PLD), digital signalprocessors (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA), memory units,logic gates, registers, semiconductor device, chips, microchips, chipsets, and so forth. Examples of software elements may include softwarecomponents, programs, applications, computer programs, applicationprograms, system programs, machine programs, operating system software,middleware, firmware, software modules, routines, subroutines,functions, methods, procedures, software interfaces, application programinterfaces (API), instruction sets, computing code, computer code, codesegments, computer code segments, words, values, symbols, or anycombination thereof. Determining whether an embodiment is implementedusing hardware elements and/or software elements may vary in accordancewith any number of factors, such as desired computational rate, powerlevels, heat tolerances, processing cycle budget, input data rates,output data rates, memory resources, data bus speeds and other design orperformance constraints, as desired for a given implementation.

In an embodiment, the logic device 205 may be operative to detect thatan external display is coupled to the mobile device. In an embodiment,the logic device 205 may be operative to detect that a physical externalinput device is coupled to the mobile device. In an embodiment, theexternal display and/or the physical external input device may becoupled via wires or wirelessly.

The logic device 205 may include a display manager 210. The displaymanager may be operative on the logic device. The display manager 210may manage content presented on multiple displays. In an embodiment, thedisplay manager 210 may manage content on the integrated touch sensitivedisplay for the mobile device. In an embodiment, the display manager 210may manage content on the external display for the mobile device.

In an embodiment, the display manager 210 may present multimedia contenton an external display. As discussed above, multimedia content mayinclude, but is not limited to, text, audio video, symbols, imagesand/or animation.

In an embodiment, the display manager may use a graphical user interface(GUI) 215 to present a digital input device on an integrated touchsensitive display for the mobile device 200. In an embodiment, the GUIcomponent 215 may generate one or more GUI views on the integrated touchsensitive display. The GUI component 215 may provide one or more imageson the integrated touch sensitive display of the mobile device withwhich a user can interact.

FIGS. A-C illustrate block diagrams of possible embodiments of a mobilesystem 300. FIG. 3A illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of amobile system 300. In the illustrated embodiment shown in FIG. 3, themobile system 300 may include a mobile device 310 and an externaldisplay 320 for the mobile device 310. The external display 320 may becoupled to the mobile device 310 via a connection 360. In an embodiment,the connection 360 may be over the shared media 160, as shown in FIG. 1.In an embodiment, the connection 360 may be a wireless connection. In anembodiment, the mobile device 310 may connect 360 to the externaldisplay 320 using a Wireless Display (WiDi) channel. Examples of anexternal display 320 may include, but are not limited to, a televisionscreen and/or a computer monitor.

A mobile device 310 may include, but is not limited to, a laptop, anotebook, a handheld computer, a handheld enclosure, a portableelectronic device, a mobile Internet device (MID), a tablet, a computingdevice with a touch screen, a slate and/or a personal digital assistant.The embodiments, however, are not limited to these examples. The mobiledevice 310 may include an integrated display 312. As discussed above,the integrated touch sensitive display 312 may be implemented as, but isnot limited to, a touch screen, touch panel and/or touch screen panel.

When the mobile device 310 is coupled to the external display 320, theexternal display 320 may replicate the multimedia content currentlydisplayed on the integrated touch sensitive display 312 of the mobiledevice 310. As discussed above, the multimedia content may include, butis not limited to, text, images, audio and video. Once the externaldisplay 320 and the mobile device 310 are coupled, the mobile device 310may present a digital input device on the integrated touch sensitivedisplay 312 while the external display 320 may continue to present themultimedia content.

In an embodiment, the combination of the external display 320 and theintegrated touch sensitive display 312 of the mobile device 310 canmimic a desktop computer being docked with various input/output devices.For example, the external display 320 may function as the primarydisplay while the integrated touch sensitive display 312 of the mobiledevice 310 may function as an input device.

An input device is a device which provides information to a processingdevice. Input devices may include, but are not limited to, a keyboard, apointing device, a touch pad, a composite device, an imaging deviceand/or a video device. Further examples of input devices may include,but are not limited to, a mouse, a track pad, a digital camera, digitalrecorder, a webcam, a microphone, a scanner, a barcode reader, apointing stick, a virtual pen, a joystick, a controller, a gamecontroller, a remote, a computer keyboard, a trackball and/or any othertype of physical input device. The embodiments, however, are not limitedto these examples.

In an embodiment, the integrated touch sensitive display 312 of a mobiledevice 310 may display an input device. In an embodiment, the inputdevice presented on the integrated touch sensitive display 312 may bereferred to as a digital input device 370. The digital input device 370may comprise hardware and/or software to replicate the functions of anexternal physical input device. In an embodiment, the digital inputdevice 370 may mimic the functionality of the input device presented onthe integrated touch sensitive display 312. A digital input device 370presented on the integrated touch sensitive display 312 of the mobiledevice 310 may provide information to the external display 320. Usingthe digital input device 370 may reduce and/or eliminate the need tocouple the mobile device 310 to external physical input devices.

For example, an integrated touch sensitive display 312 of the mobiledevice 310 may display a keyboard as a digital input device 370. Akeyboard may be presented on the integrated touch sensitive display tooperate the mobile device and the external display may presentmultimedia content in response to operation of the mobile device throughthe keyboard. When a user touches a letter on the keyboard presented onthe integrated touch sensitive display 312 of the mobile device 310, theletter may appear on the external display 320 as if the user touchedthat letter on an external keyboard device.

For example, an integrated touch sensitive display 312 of the mobiledevice 310 may display a trackball as a digital input device 370. Atrackball may be presented on the integrated touch sensitive display tooperate the mobile device and the external display may presentmultimedia content in response to operation of the mobile device throughthe trackball. When a user touches the trackball presented on theintegrated touch sensitive display 312, a pointer from the location ofthe trackball may appear on the external display 320.

For example, an integrated touch sensitive display 312 of the mobiledevice 310 may display a video remote with one or more of a stop, start,fast forward, rewind and/or play button. A video remote may be presentedon the integrated touch sensitive display to operate the mobile deviceand the external display may present multimedia content in response tooperation of the mobile device through the video remote. When a usertouches a button on the video remote presented on the integrated touchsensitive display 312, the video remote may stop, start, fast forward,rewind and/or play on the external display 320 based on the user'stouch.

The mobile device 310 may function as the input device presented on theintegrated touch sensitive display. For example, the input devicepresented on the integrated touch sensitive display 312 of a mobiledevice 310 may be a keyboard. The keyboard presented on the integratedtouch sensitive display of the mobile device may have the samefunctionality of an actual keyboard. For example, a user may touch thecaps lock key and a letter key presented on the integrated touchsensitive display in order to capitalize a letter. Alternatively or inaddition, a user may press multiple keys simultaneously to replicate akeyboard function, such as holding the shift key to capitalize a letter.

Alternatively and or in addition, the mobile device 310 may mimic thefunctionality of an external physical input device via one or morevisual images, sounds and/or vibrations. The mobile device 310 mayprovide sensory output such as, but not limited to, output for a user'ssense of sight, hearing and touch. The sensory output from theintegrated touch sensitive display 312 of the mobile device 310 mayassist the user in using the digital input device 370.

In an embodiment, the integrated touch sensitive display 312 of themobile device 310 may mimic the functionality of an external physicalinput device via a visual depiction. For example, the integrated touchsensitive display 312 of the mobile device 310 may display a keyboard asa digital input device 370. The integrated touch sensitive display 312may mimic the keyboard via the visual depiction of the various buttonsof a full sized keyboard device. A user may touch a key on theintegrated touch sensitive display 312 to mimic the pressing of one ormore keys. In an embodiment, the integrated touch sensitive display 312may mimic a keyboard by displaying a depressed key when the presentedkey is touched by a user. For example, a user may touch the letter “u”and the letter “u” key presented on the integrated touch sensitivedisplay 312 may show a depressed “u” key. In an embodiment, theintegrated touch sensitive display 312 of the mobile device 310 maydisplay a mouse with a scroll wheel. The integrated touch sensitivedisplay 312 of the mobile device 310 may show a visual image of wherethe mouse previously moved on the integrated touch sensitive display312. Alternatively or in addition, the integrated touch sensitivedisplay 312 may depict a moving scroll wheel when a user touches thedisplayed scroll wheel. The examples are not limited to the embodimentsdescribed.

In an embodiment, the mobile device 310 may mimic the functionality ofan external physical input device via one or more sounds. For example,if the digital input device 370 presented is a keyboard, the mobiledevice 310 may provide a clicking sound when a user touches a keypresented on the integrated touch sensitive display 312. If the digitalinput device 370 presented is a mouse, the mobile device 310 may providea clicking sound when a user touches the left and/or right buttonsdepicted on the displayed mouse. Alternatively or in addition, themobile device 310 may provide a noise when a user moves a mouse aroundthe integrated touch sensitive display 312. If the digital input device370 presented is a barcode reader, the mobile device 310 may provide abeeping sound when a barcode is read. The examples are not limited tothe embodiments described.

Alternatively or in addition, the integrated touch sensitive display 312of the mobile device 310 may provide a vibration or sensation to a userwhen a user touches a part of the presented digital input device 370. Inan embodiment, the mobile device 310 may mimic the functionality of theinput device via a touch or tactile sensation. In an embodiment, themobile device may contain a motor and or other tactile technology inorder to provide the sensation to a user. For example, if the digitalinput device 370 presented is a track pad, the mobile device 310 mayprovide the user with a sensation of the ball of a tack pad rollingacross the integrated touch sensitive display 212. If the input devicepresented is a mouse, the mobile device 310 may provide a vibration whenthe left and/or right buttons presented on the integrated touchsensitive display 312 are touched by a user. Alternatively or inaddition, the mobile device 310 may provide a different vibration when ascrolling wheel of the mouse is touched by a user. If the input devicepresented is a keyboard, the mobile device 310 may provide a vibrationwhen a key on the integrated touch sensitive display 312 is touched. Theexamples are not limited to the embodiments described.

Using the integrated touch sensitive display 312 to replicate functionsof an external physical input device may eliminate the need to connectone or more physical input devices to the mobile device 310. Theintegrated touch sensitive display 312 for a mobile device 310 may beutilized as a custom input device for the mobile device 310 and may be aproductive resource of a mobile device 310.

FIG. 3B illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a mobile system300. In an embodiment, a mobile system 300 may include multiple externaldisplays 320A, 320B, 320C coupled to a mobile device 310. In anembodiment, the external display 320A, 320B, 320C may be coupled to themobile device 310 via a wired or wireless connection. In an embodiment,one or more of the multiple external displays 320A, 320B, 320C may becoupled to the mobile device via a Wireless Display (WiDi) channel.

In an embodiment, one or more of external displays may presentmultimedia content. In an embodiment, one or more of the externaldisplays 320A, 320B, 320C may present the same multimedia contentsimultaneously. For example, various external displays 320A, 320B, 320Cmay present the same multimedia content simultaneously so that users ina large ballroom may view the content, such as a presentation, fromwherever they are seated. Alternatively or in addition, one or moreexternal display 320A, 320B, 320C may present at least a portion of themultimedia content. For example, multiple displays may be used togetherto form one large display presenting the multimedia content. Theexamples are not limited to the embodiments described.

FIG. 3C illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a mobile system300. In an embodiment, an external input 380 may be coupled to a mobiledevice 310. In an embodiment, the external input 380 may be a physicalinput device. In an embodiment, the external input 380 may be coupled tothe mobile device via a wired or wireless connection. In an embodiment,the external input 380 may be wirelessly coupled to the mobile deviceusing the connection that coupled the mobile device 310 to the externaldisplay 320.

In an embodiment, the integrated touch sensitive display 312 on themobile device 310 may be used to augment and/or enhance functions of theexternal input 380. For example, an external input 380 may be a physicalpointing device such as a virtual pen. The virtual pen 380 may becoupled to a mobile device 310 and may be used to select contentpresented on an external display 320. However, the external display 320may not provide sufficient resolution and/or granularity to specificallypin-point content presented on the external display 320. The digitalinput device 370 on the integrated touch sensitive display 312 of themobile device 310 may provide a more detailed version of an area arounda pointer positioned on the external display 370. This may allow a userto select a more precise location within the detailed version by tappingon the input device 370 on the integrated touch sensitive display 312 atthe desired location.

In an embodiment, the integrated touch sensitive display 312 on themobile device 310 may be used as a supplemental device along with theexternal input 380. For example, a computer workstation often hasmultiple external devices such as a keyboard and a mouse. In anembodiment, the mobile system 300 may have a physical keyboard as anexternal input 280 and the input device 370 on the integrated touchsensitive display 312 of the mobile device 310 may be a mouse. By havingthe mobile device 310 act as an input device, a computer workstation maybe easily simulated without the need for multiple external devices. Theexamples are not limited to the embodiments described.

FIG. 4 illustrates exemplary digital input devices 425A, 425B, 425Cpresented on an integrated touch sensitive display 410 of a mobiledevice. As shown in FIG. 4, the integrated touch sensitive display 410on the mobile device 405 may alternate between various digital inputdevices 425A, 425B, 425C and the multimedia content 415 while coupled toan external display of the mobile device 405.

In an embodiment, the mobile device 405 may present a keyboard 425A asthe digital input device 425 on the integrated touch sensitive display410. In an embodiment, the integrated touch sensitive display 410 of themobile device 405 may automatically present a keyboard 425A as thedigital input device 425 when the mobile device 405 is coupled to anexternal display.

In an embodiment, the integrated touch sensitive display 410 of themobile device 405 may wait to receive information about the digitalinput device 425. In an embodiment, the information may cause theintegrated touch sensitive display 410 on the mobile device 405 todisplay a digital input device 425. The information may cause the mobiledevice to function as the digital input device 425. For example, a usermay select one or more digital input devices 425A, 425B, 425C to bepresented on the integrated touch sensitive display 410 from a set, listand/or group of input devices. For example, the mobile device 405 mayreceive information that a user selected a keyboard 425A to be presentedas the digital input device 425. As a result, the mobile device 405 maypresent a keyboard 425A as the digital input device 425 on theintegrated touch sensitive display 410 and the mobile device 405 mayfunction as a keyboard.

In an embodiment, a user may want to change the digital input device 425presented on the integrated touch sensitive display 410 of the mobiledevice 405. In an embodiment, the integrated touch sensitive display 410on the mobile device 405 may switch from displaying a first digitalinput device 425 to displaying a second digital input device 425. Forexample, a user may want to change from the keyboard 425A as the digitalinput device 425 to a track pad 425B as the digital input device 425. Inan embodiment, the digital input device 425 displayed on the integratedtouch sensitive display 410 may switch because an external device hasbeen added to the mobile system.

Alternatively or in addition, a user may want to change to includemultiple digital input devices 425 on the integrated touch sensitivedisplay 410 of the mobile device 405. For example, a user may want tochange to an integrated touch sensitive display 410 including a keyboardwith a track pad 425C as the digital input device 425.

In an embodiment, an integrated touch sensitive display 410 on themobile device 405 may switch back to being the primary display and maypresent at least a portion of the multimedia content 415 which ispresented on the external display. When the integrated touch sensitivedisplay 410 on the mobile device 405 switches to display the multimediacontent 415, the integrated touch sensitive display 410 and the externaldisplay may have the same display.

Alternatively and/or in addition, an integrated touch sensitive display410 on the mobile device 405 may present at least a portion of themultimedia content 415 which is presented on the external display. Forexample, the digital input device 425 may present a more detailedversion of a portion of the media content 415 displayed on the externaldisplay screen.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a first exemplary logic flow. Logicflow 500 may be representative of the operations executed by one or moreembodiments described herein. It should be noted that the methodsdescribed herein do not have to be executed in the order described, orin any particular order. Moreover, various activities described withrespect to the methods identified herein can be executed in serial orparallel fashion.

As shown in logic flow 500, an external display coupled to a mobiledevice may be detected 505. The mobile device may detect 505 that one ormore external displays are coupled via a logic device 205, shown in FIG.2. The logic device may detect that the mobile device is coupled to anexternal display via a wired connection. Examples of a wired connectioninclude, but are not limited to, cables and/or cords. In an embodiment,the logic device may detect that the mobile device is coupled to anexternal display via a wireless connection. Examples of a wirelessconnection include, but are not limited to, Wireless Fidelity (WiFi)and/or Wireless Display (WiDi). The embodiments, however, are notlimited to these examples.

Alternatively or in addition, the display manager 210, as shown in FIG.2, in the mobile device may manage 507 the multiple display devices. Inan embodiment, the mobile device may manage 507 an integrated touchsensitive display of the mobile device. In an embodiment, the mobiledevice may manage 507 one or more external displays.

In an embodiment, a digital input device may be presented 510 on theintegrated touch sensitive display of the mobile device to operate themobile device. For example, the integrated touch sensitive display ofthe mobile device may be a touch screen. A keyboard may be presented asthe digital input device. The keyboard displayed on the integrated touchsensitive display may be used to operate the mobile device. Theembodiments, however, are not limited to this example.

In an embodiment, multimedia content may be presented 515 to theexternal display of the mobile device in response to the operation ofthe mobile device through the digital input device. The multimediacontent may be an application executed, or running on, the mobiledevice. As discussed above, multimedia content may include, but is notlimited to, text, audio, video and images.

In an embodiment, the multimedia content may be presented on theintegrated touch sensitive display of the mobile device prior to themobile device being coupled to the external display. After the mobiledevice and the external display are coupled, the external display maypresent 515 the multimedia content. By presenting the multimediacontent, the external display may become the primary display.

In an embodiment, the digital input device presented 510 on theintegrated touch sensitive display of the mobile device may be differentthan the media content presented 515 on the external display. In otherwords, rather than having both the integrated touch sensitive display onthe mobile device and the external display present the same multimediacontent, once the mobile device detects 505 that that the mobile deviceis coupled to an external display device, the integrated touch sensitivedisplay of the mobile device may present 510 a digital input device usedto operate the mobile device.

In an embodiment, the mobile device may detect 505 multiple externaldisplays coupled to the mobile device. In an embodiment, one or more ofthe external displays may present 515 the multimedia content in responseto operation of the mobile device through the digital input device. Forexample, the external display may be a monitor and multiple monitors maypresent 515 the multimedia content. In an embodiment, one or moreexternal displays may present 515 the same multimedia contentsimultaneously. For example, in a large ballroom, users may view variousscreens presenting 515 the same content, such as a movie.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a second exemplary logic flow. Logicflow 600 may be representative of the operations executed by one or moreembodiments described herein. It should be noted that the methodsdescribed herein do not have to be executed in the order described, orin any particular order. Moreover, various activities described withrespect to the methods identified herein can be executed in serial orparallel fashion.

In an embodiment, once an external display coupled to a mobile device isdetected 605, the mobile device may receive 615 information about adigital input device. In an embodiment, the mobile device may determinewhether it received 615 information about a digital input device. In anembodiment, a time threshold may be used. The time threshold may be 5seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes and or other time values. If noinformation is received during the threshold, then the mobile device maydetermine that no information was received 615.

In an embodiment, if the mobile device did not receive 615 informationabout a digital input device, then the integrated touch sensitivedisplay may automatically present 620 a digital input device on theintegrated touch sensitive display of the mobile device. For example,the integrated touch sensitive display of the mobile device mayautomatically present 620 a keyboard as the digital input device.Alternatively or in addition, the integrated touch sensitive display ofthe mobile device may automatically present 620 a mouse as the digitalinput device. In an embodiment, the digital input device that isautomatically presented 620 may be previously determined. In anembodiment, the digital input device that is automatically presented 620may be randomly chosen from the one or more digital input devices thatcan be presented on the user interface device.

In an embodiment, a user may select a digital input device to present625 on the integrated touch sensitive display of the mobile device. Inan embodiment, after the mobile device detects 605 that it is coupled toan external display, the mobile device may receive 615 information abouta digital input device and may present 625 the digital input device onthe integrated touch sensitive display of the mobile device based on thereceived information.

In an embodiment, a user may provide the information received 615 by themobile device about a digital input device by selecting a digital inputdevice. For example, a user may touch a certain place on the integratedtouch sensitive display which may cause the integrated touch sensitivedisplay to display various digital input devices. In an embodiment, theintegrated touch sensitive display may present a set, list and/or groupof digital input devices. In an embodiment, in addition to the set, listor group of one or more digital input devices, the integrated touchsensitive display may also list an option of displaying all or a portionof the multimedia content.

In an embodiment, a user may provide the information received 615 by themobile device by simply touching the integrated touch sensitive display.In an embodiment, the user may touch the integrated touch sensitivedisplay of the mobile device with his/her finger to make a selectionfrom a group, list and/or set. In an embodiment, the user may use astylus or virtual pen to make a selection. The examples are not limitedto the embodiments described.

In an embodiment, the mobile device may receive 615 information about adigital input device by receiving information that an external physicaldevice was added to the mobile system. As a result of an added externalphysical device, the integrated touch sensitive display on the mobilesystem may present a digital input device which provides a more detailedversion of a part of the external display screen. Alternatively and orin addition, as a result of an added external physical device, theintegrated touch sensitive display on the mobile system may present adifferent digital input device. In an embodiment, the digital inputdevice may complement the external physical device. For example, when akeyboard is coupled to a mobile device, the integrated touch sensitivedisplay may present a mouse.

In an embodiment, a user may switch the digital input device presentedon the integrated touch sensitive display of the mobile device. A usermay hot swap the digital input device presented on the integrated touchsensitive display of the mobile device. In an embodiment, the mobiledevice may receive 615 information about a digital input device after adigital input device is automatically presented 620 on the integratedtouch sensitive display of the mobile device. For example, a full sizekeyboard may be presented on the display. Information may be received615 and a track pad may be hot swapped so that the tack pad is displayedon the integrated touch sensitive display. Additionally and/oralternatively, a mobile device may receive 615 information about a firstdigital input device and then receive 615 information about a seconddigital input device.

In an embodiment, the mobile device may change the integrated touchsensitive display to present 625 the input device based on the receivedinformation. For example, the integrated touch sensitive display of themobile device may automatically present 620 a keyboard when the mobiledevice is coupled to the external display. After a user used the mobiledevice as a keyboard, a user may want the integrated touch sensitivedisplay to present 625 a track pad as the digital input device. In anembodiment, the mobile device may receive information 615 about adigital input device. For example, the mobile device may receive 615information that a user selected a track pad as the digital inputdevice. The mobile device may present 625 the tack pad on the integratedtouch sensitive display.

Alternatively or in addition to, the mobile device may receive 615information that the integrated touch sensitive display should presentall or a portion of the multimedia content. The mobile device maypresent all or a portion of the multimedia content on the integratedtouch sensitive display. In an embodiment, an enlarged or more detailedportion of the multimedia content may be presented on the integratedtouch sensitive display as the digital input device.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of an exemplary computing architecture700 suitable for implementing various embodiments as previouslydescribed. As used in this application, the terms “system” and“component” are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, eitherhardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or softwarein execution, examples of which are provided by the exemplary computingarchitecture 700. For example, a component can be, but is not limited tobeing, a process running on a processor, a processor, a hard disk drive,multiple storage drives (of optical and/or magnetic storage medium), anobject, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or acomputer. By way of illustration, both an application running on aserver and the server can be a component. One or more components canreside within a process and/or thread of execution, and a component canbe localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers. Further, components may be communicatively coupled to eachother by various types of communications media to coordinate operations.The coordination may involve the uni-directional or bi-directionalexchange of information. For instance, the components may communicateinformation in the form of signals communicated over the communicationsmedia. The information can be implemented as signals allocated tovarious signal lines. In such allocations, each message is a signal.Further embodiments, however, may alternatively employ data messages.Such data messages may be sent across various connections. Exemplaryconnections include parallel interfaces, serial interfaces, and businterfaces.

In one embodiment, the computing architecture 700 may comprise or beimplemented as part of an electronic device. Examples of an electronicdevice may include without limitation a mobile device, a personaldigital assistant, a mobile computing device, a smart phone, a cellulartelephone, a handset, a one-way pager, a two-way pager, a messagingdevice, a computer, a personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, alaptop computer, a notebook computer, a handheld computer, a tabletcomputer, a server, a server array or server farm, a web server, anetwork server, an Internet server, a work station, a mini-computer, amain frame computer, a supercomputer, a network appliance, a webappliance, a distributed computing system, multiprocessor systems,processor-based systems, consumer electronics, programmable consumerelectronics, television, digital television, set top box, wirelessaccess point, base station, subscriber station, mobile subscribercenter, radio network controller, router, hub, gateway, bridge, switch,machine, or combination thereof. The embodiments are not limited in thiscontext.

The computing architecture 700 includes various common computingelements, such as one or more processors, co-processors, memory units,chipsets, controllers, peripherals, interfaces, oscillators, timingdevices, video cards, audio cards, multimedia input/output (I/O)components, and so forth. The embodiments, however, are not limited toimplementation by the computing architecture 700.

As shown in FIG. 7, the computing architecture 700 comprises aprocessing unit 704, a system memory 706 and a system bus 708. Theprocessing unit 704 can be any of various commercially availableprocessors. Dual microprocessors and other multi-processor architecturesmay also be employed as the processing unit 704. The system bus 708provides an interface for system components including, but not limitedto, the system memory 706 to the processing unit 704. The system bus 708can be any of several types of bus structure that may furtherinterconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), aperipheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of commerciallyavailable bus architectures.

The computing architecture 700 may comprise or implement variousarticles of manufacture. An article of manufacture may comprise acomputer-readable storage medium to store logic. Examples of acomputer-readable storage medium may include any tangible media capableof storing electronic data, including volatile memory or non-volatilememory, removable or non-removable memory, erasable or non-erasablememory, writeable or re-writeable memory, and so forth. Examples oflogic may include executable computer program instructions implementedusing any suitable type of code, such as source code, compiled code,interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code,object-oriented code, visual code, and the like.

The system memory 706 may include various types of computer-readablestorage media in the form of one or more higher speed memory units, suchas read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM(DRAM), Double-Data-Rate DRAM (DDRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), staticRAM (SRAM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, polymermemory such as ferroelectric polymer memory, ovonic memory, phase changeor ferroelectric memory, silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS)memory, magnetic or optical cards, or any other type of media suitablefor storing information. In the illustrated embodiment shown in FIG. 7,the system memory 706 can include non-volatile memory 710 and/orvolatile memory 712. A basic input/output system (BIOS) can be stored inthe non-volatile memory 710.

The computer 702 may include various types of computer-readable storagemedia in the form of one or more lower speed memory units, including aninternal hard disk drive (HDD) 714, a magnetic floppy disk drive (FDD)716 to read from or write to a removable magnetic disk 718, and anoptical disk drive 720 to read from or write to a removable optical disk722 (e.g., a CD-ROM or DVD). The HDD 714, FDD 716 and optical disk drive720 can be coupled to the system bus 708 by a HDD interface 724, an FDDinterface 726 and an optical drive interface 728, respectively. The HDDinterface 724 for external drive implementations can include at leastone or both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE 1394 interfacetechnologies.

The drives and associated computer-readable media provide volatileand/or nonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executableinstructions, and so forth. For example, a number of program modules canbe stored in the drives and memory units 710, 712, including anoperating system 730, one or more application programs 732, otherprogram modules 734, and program data 736. The one or more applicationprograms 732, other program modules 734, and program data 736 caninclude, for example, the decoder.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 702 throughone or more wire/wireless input devices, for example, a keyboard 738 anda pointing device, such as a mouse 740. Other input devices may includea microphone, an infra-red (IR) remote control, a joystick, a game pad,a stylus pen, touch screen, or the like. These and other input devicesare often connected to the processing unit 704 through an input deviceinterface 742 that is coupled to the system bus 708, but can beconnected by other interfaces such as a parallel port, IEEE 1394 serialport, a game port, a USB port, an IR interface, and so forth.

A monitor 744 or other type of display device is also connected to thesystem bus 708 via an interface, such as a video adaptor 746. Inaddition to the monitor 744, a computer typically includes otherperipheral output devices, such as speakers, printers, and so forth.

The computer 702 may operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections via wire and/or wireless communications to one or moreremote computers, such as a remote computer 748. The remote computer 748can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, a personal computer,portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainment appliance, a peerdevice or other common network device, and typically includes many orall of the elements described relative to the computer 702, although,for purposes of brevity, only a memory/storage device 750 isillustrated. The logical connections depicted include wire/wirelessconnectivity to a local area network (LAN) 752 and/or larger networks,for example, a wide area network (WAN) 754. Such LAN and WAN networkingenvironments are commonplace in offices and companies, and facilitateenterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all of which mayconnect to a global communications network, for example, the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 702 is connectedto the LAN 752 through a wire and/or wireless communication networkinterface or adaptor 756. The adaptor 756 can facilitate wire and/orwireless communications to the LAN 752, which may also include awireless access point disposed thereon for communicating with thewireless functionality of the adaptor 756.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 702 can includea modem 758, or is connected to a communications server on the WAN 754,or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN 754,such as by way of the Internet. The modem 758, which can be internal orexternal and a wire and/or wireless device, connects to the system bus708 via the input device interface 742. In a networked environment,program modules depicted relative to the computer 702, or portionsthereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device 750. It willbe appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary andother means of establishing a communications link between the computerscan be used.

The computer 702 is operable to communicate with wire and wirelessdevices or entities using the IEEE 802 family of standards, such aswireless devices operatively disposed in wireless communication (e.g.,IEEE 802.11 over-the-air modulation techniques) with, for example, aprinter, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, personal digitalassistant (PDA), communications satellite, any piece of equipment orlocation associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk,news stand, restroom), and telephone. This includes at least Wi-Fi (orWireless Fidelity), WiMax, and Bluetooth™ wireless technologies. Thus,the communication can be a predefined structure as with a conventionalnetwork or simply an ad hoc communication between at least two devices.Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called IEEE 802.11x (a, b, g, n,etc.) to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Finetwork can be used to connect computers to each other, to the Internet,and to wire networks (which use IEEE 802.3-related media and functions).

Some embodiments may be described using the expression “one embodiment”or “an embodiment” along with their derivatives. These terms mean that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Theappearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.Further, some embodiments may be described using the expression“coupled” and “connected” along with their derivatives. These terms arenot necessarily intended as synonyms for each other. For example, someembodiments may be described using the terms “connected” and/or“coupled” to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physicalor electrical contact with each other. The term “coupled,” however, mayalso mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with eachother, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other.

It is emphasized that the Abstract of the Disclosure is provided toallow a reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technicaldisclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not beused to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Inaddition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen thatvarious features are grouped together in a single embodiment for thepurpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is notto be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimedembodiments require more features than are expressly recited in eachclaim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matterlies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thusthe following claims are hereby incorporated into the DetailedDescription, with each claim standing on its own as a separateembodiment. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which”are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms“comprising” and “wherein,” respectively. Moreover, the terms “first,”“second,” “third,” and so forth, are used merely as labels, and are notintended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.

What has been described above includes examples of the disclosedarchitecture. It is, of course, not possible to describe everyconceivable combination of components and/or methodologies, but one ofordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinationsand permutations are possible. Accordingly, the novel architecture isintended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variationsthat fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a remote control,comprising: a first set of a plurality of input buttons; and atransmitter coupled to the plurality of input buttons, the transmitterto send a first control signal to an external display based on aninteraction with one or more of the plurality of buttons; and at leastone non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising a set ofinstructions that, in response to being executed by a processor of amobile device, cause the processor to present a digital input on a touchsensitive display of the mobile device, the digital input comprising atleast one digital input to augment the first set of the plurality ofinput buttons and to control the external display.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, the at least one non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium comprising instructions that, in response to being executed bythe processor of the mobile device, cause the processor to: detectinteraction with the at least one digital input; and transmit a secondcontrol signal to the external display based on the interaction.
 3. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein the second control signal to be transmittedto the external display via Wi-Fi.
 4. The system of claim 1, the digitalinput comprising a second set of a plurality of buttons different thanthe first set of the plurality of input buttons.
 5. The system of claim1, the at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumcomprising instructions that, in response to being executed by theprocessor of the mobile device, cause the processor to: detect theexternal display; and receive information to include an indication ofthe digital input to control the external display.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, the at least one non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium comprising instructions that, in response to being executed bythe processor of the mobile device, cause the processor to present asecond digital input on the touch sensitive display of the mobiledevice, the second digital input to control the external display.
 7. Thesystem of claim 6, the at least one non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium comprising instructions that, in response to beingexecuted by the processor of the mobile device, cause the processor to:receive information to include an indication of the digital input tocontrol the external display; and switch presenting the digital inputdevice to presenting the second digital input.
 8. A method for a mobiledevice, comprising: receiving information to include an indication of adigital input to control an external display; and presenting the digitalinput on a touch sensitive display of a mobile device, the digital inputcomprising at least one digital input to augment a first set of aplurality of input buttons of a remote control, the remote controlarranged to control the external display.
 9. The method of claim 8,comprising: detecting interaction with the at least one digital input;and transmitting a control signal to the external display based on theinteraction.
 10. The method of claim 9, comprising transmitting thecontrol signal to the external display via Wi-Fi.
 11. The method ofclaim 8, comprising presenting the digital input to include a second setof a plurality of buttons different than the first set of the pluralityof input buttons.
 12. The method of claim 8, comprising detecting theexternal display and receiving the information to include an indicationof the digital input to control the external display in response todetecting the external display.
 13. The method of claim 8, comprisingpresenting a second digital input on the touch sensitive display of themobile device, the second digital input to control the external display.14. The method of claim 13, comprising: receiving information to includean indication of the second digital input to control the externaldisplay; and switching presenting the digital input device to presentingthe second digital input.
 15. At least one non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium, comprising a set of instructions that,in response to being executed by a processor of a mobile device, causethe processor to: receive information to include an indication of adigital input to control an external display; and present the digitalinput on a touch sensitive display of a mobile device, the digital inputcomprising at least one digital input to augment a first set of aplurality of input buttons of a remote control, the remote controlarranged to control the external display.
 16. The at least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, comprisinginstructions that, in response to being executed by the processor, causethe processor to: detect interaction with the at least one digitalinput; and transmit a control signal to the external display based onthe interaction.
 17. The at least one non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 16, comprising instructions that, in response tobeing executed by the processor, cause the processor to transmit thecontrol signal to the external display via Wi-Fi.
 18. The at least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, the digitalinput comprising a second set of a plurality of buttons different thanthe first set of the plurality of input buttons.
 19. The at least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, comprisinginstructions that, in response to being executed by the processor, causethe processor to: detect the external display; and receive theinformation to include the indication of the digital input to controlthe external display in response to detecting the external display. 20.The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 16, comprising instructions that, in response to being executed bythe processor, cause the processor to present a second digital input onthe touch sensitive display of the mobile device, the second digitalinput to control the external display.
 21. The at least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, comprisinginstructions that, in response to being executed by the processor, causethe processor to: receive information to include an indication of thesecond digital input to control the external display; and switchpresenting the digital input device to presenting the second digitalinput.
 22. A mobile device comprising: a touch sensitive display; aprocessor coupled to the touch sensitive display; and a memory coupledto the processor, the memory to store a set of instructions that, inresponse to being executed by the processor, cause the processor to:receive information to include an indication of a digital input tocontrol an external display coupled to the mobile device; and presentthe digital input on a touch sensitive display of a mobile device, thedigital input comprising at least one digital input to augment a firstset of a plurality of input buttons of a remote control, the remotecontrol arranged to control the external display.
 23. The mobile deviceof claim 22, the memory comprising instructions that, in response tobeing executed by the processor, cause the processor to: detectinteraction with the at least one digital input; and transmit a controlsignal to the external display based on the interaction.
 24. The mobiledevice of claim 23, comprising a Wi-Fi interface coupled to theprocessor, the memory comprising instructions that, in response to beingexecuted by the processor, cause the processor to transmit the controlsignal to the external display via the Wi-Fi interface.
 25. The mobiledevice of claim 22, the digital input comprising a second set of aplurality of buttons different than the first set of the plurality ofinput buttons.
 26. The mobile device of claim 23, the memory comprisinginstructions that, in response to being executed by the processor, causethe processor to: detect the external display; and receive theinformation to include the indication of the digital input to controlthe external display in response to detecting the external display. 27.The mobile device of claim 23, the memory comprising instructions that,in response to being executed by the processor, cause the processor topresent a second digital input on the touch sensitive display, thesecond digital input to control the external display.
 28. The mobiledevice of claim 27, the memory comprising instructions that, in responseto being executed by the processor, cause the processor to: receiveinformation to include an indication of the second digital input tocontrol the external display; and switch presenting the digital inputdevice to presenting the second digital input.